From vineyards to feedlots: a fund-flow scanning of sociometabolic transition in the Vallès County (Catalonia) 1860–1956–1999

Regional Environmental Change - We analyse the changes to agricultural metabolism in four municipalities of Vallès County (Catalonia, Iberia) by accounting for their agroecosystem funds and...     

Modeling the decline of labor-sharing in the semi-desert region of Chile

Regional Environmental Change - The rapid environmental changes currently underway in many dry regions of the world, and the deep uncertainty about their consequences, underscore a critical...     

Drivers of broadleaved evergreen species spread into deciduous forests in the southern Swiss Alps

Regional Environmental Change - The spread of non-native species into natural communities is a noticeable phenomenon linked to global change. Drivers of such invasions, however, may differ...     

Sediment distribution on the continental shelf in relation to stream inputs and contamination: hydrodynamic,chemical, mineralogical,and sedimentological characteristics (Ligurian Sea,Italy)

River estuaries, continental shelf, and sediment contamination are closely linked from the point of view of sediment transport and diffusion that is governed by different factors such as sea waves and currents, river flows and floods, and sediment characteristics. Taking these factors into consideration, we have examined marine environmental and marine bottom sediments off the mouth of a stream to highlight the main ways of sediment and contaminant transport and diffusion on the continental shelf. For this purpose, we followed a multidisciplinary approach, studying circulation of water masses, hydrological characteristics of water column, distribution and main characteristics of sediment grain size, sediment mineralogical composition, and metal concentrations of bottom sediments. Our results allowed identifying the presence of preferential ways of sediment deposition and areas of sediment spread for the Entella Stream, as well as the origin of some metals.

     

Incorporating putatively neutral and adaptive genomic data into marine conservation planning

The availability of genomic data for an increasing number of species makes it possible to incorporate evolutionary processes into conservation plans. Recent studies show how genetic data can inform spatial conservation prioritization (SCP), but they focus on metrics of diversity and distinctness derived primarily from neutral genetic data sets. Identifying adaptive genetic markers can provide important information regarding the capacity for populations to adapt to environmental change. Yet, the effect of including metrics based on adaptive genomic data into SCP in comparison to more widely used neutral genetic metrics has not been explored. We used existing genomic data on a commercially exploited species, the giant California sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus), to perform SCP for the coastal region of British Columbia (BC), Canada. Using a RAD-seq data set for 717 P. californicus individuals across 24 sampling locations, we identified putatively adaptive (i.e., candidate) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) based on genotype–environment associations with seafloor temperature. We calculated various metrics for both neutral and candidate SNPs and compared SCP outcomes with independent metrics and combinations of metrics. Priority areas varied depending on whether neutral or candidate SNPs were used and on the specific metric used. For example, targeting sites with a high frequency of warm-temperature-associated alleles to support persistence under future warming prioritized areas in the southern coastal region. In contrast, targeting sites with high expected heterozygosity at candidate loci to support persistence under future environmental uncertainty prioritized areas in the north. When combining metrics, all scenarios generated intermediate solutions, protecting sites that span latitudinal and thermal gradients. Our results demonstrate that distinguishing between neutral and adaptive markers can affect conservation solutions and emphasize the importance of defining objectives when choosing among various genomic metrics for SCP.     

Neanderthal medics? Evidence for food, cooking, and medicinal plants entrapped in dental calculus

Neanderthals disappeared sometime between 30,000 and 24,000?years ago. Until recently, Neanderthals were understood to have been predominantly meat-eaters; however, a growing body of evidence suggests their diet also included plants. We present the results of a study, in which sequential thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) were combined with morphological analysis of plant microfossils, to identify material entrapped in dental calculus from five Neanderthal individuals from the north Spanish site of El Sidrón. Our results provide the first molecular evidence for inhalation of wood-fire smoke and bitumen or oil shale and ingestion of a range of cooked plant foods. We also offer the first evidence for the use of medicinal plants by a Neanderthal individual. The varied use of plants that we have identified suggests that the Neanderthal occupants of El Sidrón had a sophisticated knowledge of their natural surroundings which included the ability to select and use certain plants.     

Assessing risk and adaptation options to fires and windstorms in European forestry

Risks can generally be described as the combination of hazard, exposure and vulnerability. Using this framework, we evaluated the historical and future development of risk of fire and wind damage in European forestry at the national level. Fire risk is expected to increase, mainly as a consequence of an increase in fire hazard, defined as the Fire Weather Index in summer. Exposure, defined as forest area, is expected to increase slightly as a consequence of active afforestation and abandonment of marginal agricultural areas. Adaptation options to fire risk should therefore aim to decrease the vulnerability, where a change in tree species from conifers to broadleaves had most effect. Risk for wind damage in forests is expected to increase mainly as a consequence of increase in exposure (total growing stock) and vulnerability (defined by age class and tree species distribution). Projections of future wind climate indicate an increase in hazard (storminess) mainly over Western Europe. Adaptation options should aim to limit the increase in exposure and vulnerability. Only an increase in harvest level can stop the current build-up of growing stock, while at the same time it will lower vulnerability through the reduction of the share of old and vulnerable stands. Changing species from conifers to broadleaves helps to reduce vulnerability as well. Lowering vulnerability by decreasing the rotation length is only effective in combination with a high demand for wood. Due to data limitations, no forecast of future fire area or damaged timber amount by storms was possible.     

European scale application of atmospheric reactive nitrogen measurements in a low-cost approach to infer dry deposition fluxes

A European scale network was established in 2006 as part of the NitroEurope Integrated Project to infer reactive nitrogen (Nr) dry deposition fluxes, based on low-cost sampling of gaseous and aerosol species and inferential modelling. The network provides monthly measurements of NH₃, NH₄⁺, HNO₃ and NO₃⁻, as well as SO₂, SO₄²⁻, HCl, Cl⁻ and base cations at 58 sites. Measurements are made with an established low-cost denuder methodology (DELTA) as a basis to: (1) examine temporal trends and spatial patterns across Europe, (2) improve and calibrate inferential modelling techniques to estimate exchange of Nr species, (3) provide best estimates of atmospheric dry N deposition, and (4) permit an analysis of net GHG exchange in relation to atmospheric and agricultural N inputs at the European scale. Responsibility for measurements is shared among seven European laboratories. An inter-comparison of the DELTA implementation by 6 laboratories at 4 test sites (Montelibretti, Italy; Braunschweig, Germany; Paterna, Spain and Auchencorth, UK) from July to October 2006 provided training for the laboratories and showed that good agreement was achieved in different climatic conditions (87% of laboratory site-means within 20% of the inter-laboratory median). Results obtained from the first year of measurements show substantial spatial variability in atmospheric Nr concentrations, illustrating the major local (NH₃) and regional (HNO₃, NO₃⁻, and NH₄⁺) differences in Nr concentrations. These results provide the basis to develop future estimates of site-based Nr dry deposition fluxes across Europe, and highlight the role of NH₃, largely of agricultural origin, which was the largest single constituent and will dominate dry Nr fluxes at most sites.     

Associated skeletons of a new middle Triassic "Rauisuchia" from Brazil

For more than 30 million years, in early Mesozoic Pangea, ??rauisuchian?? archosaurs were the apex predators in most terrestrial ecosystems, but their biology and evolutionary history remain poorly understood. We describe a new ??rauisuchian?? based on ten individuals found in a single locality from the Middle Triassic (Ladinian) Santa Maria Formation of southern Brazil. Nine articulated and associated skeletons were discovered, three of which have nearly complete skulls. Along with sedimentological and taphonomic data, this suggests that those highly successful predators exhibited some kind of intraspecific interaction. Other monotaxic assemblages of Triassic archosaurs are Late Triassic (Norian-Rhaetian) in age, approximately 10 million years younger than the material described here. Indeed, the studied assemblage may represent the earliest evidence of gregariousness among archosaurs, adding to our knowledge on the origin of a behavior pattern typical of extant taxa.